GP antibiotic prescribing

NHS England added that initiatives such as boosting uptake of the flu vaccine among at-risk groups had made an ‘important contribution to the fight against antimicrobial resistance’.

Vaccinations can help by both preventing infections in the first place and then reducing the need for antibiotics, it said. The UK’s world-leading vaccination programme helps to protect the whole population against preventable infections.

Within the total reduction, use of broad spectrum antibiotics fell by 480,000.

Public Health England chief executive Duncan Selbie said: ‘Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to health in the UK and globally and taking action to combat it is vital. I am delighted to see the success of the NHS achieving such a significant reduction.’

Antimicrobial resistance

CMO Professor Dame Sally Davies said: ‘Antibiotics are the cornerstone of modern medicine and we need to do all we can to preserve them. I am really pleased to see that, through a focus on prescribing of antibiotics, we have seen such a real reduction in their inappropriate use.

‘Unnecessary use of antibiotics contributes to an increase in drug resistant infections and it is great to see that England is taking steps to address this.’